The present invention is directed to a vehicle mounted storage unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,306 to Palmisano discloses a tool compartment mounted to the rear floor portion of a pickup truck. The tool compartment is mounted to the floor portion of the pickup truck at a mounting position disposed just behind and adjacent to the cab of the pickup truck. The tool compartment is shown to have a length that is substantially the same as the distance between the two sidewalls of the pickup truck so that the tool compartment extends the entire distance between the two sidewalls of the pickup truck.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,232,259 to Booker discloses a toolbox mounted to a rear floor portion of a pickup truck at a mounting point adjacent the tailgate of the pickup truck. The side of the toolbox disposed adjacent the tailgate has a relatively large height and the opposite side of the toolbox has a relatively small height, and the top side of the toolbox is angled so that it increases in height towards the tailgate and so that the top side of the tailgate acts as an air deflector.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,492 to Lyon discloses a storage receptacle for a pickup truck bed. The storage receptacle is shaped like a box and slidably mounted to the rear portion of the pickup truck. The storage receptacle is provided with a hinged cover that has a first portion that is generally horizontal when the cover is in a closed position and a second portion that is generally vertical when the cover is in an open position. The cover is supported in its open position by a counterweighting air cylinder attached between a sidewall of the storage receptacle and the cover.
The present invention is directed to a storage unit structured to be mounted to a rear floor portion of a vehicle, such as a pickup truck, having a rearwardly facing cab wall, a first vehicle sidewall, a first wheel well having a portion which extends outwardly from a portion of the first vehicle sidewall, a second vehicle sidewall, and a second wheel well having a portion which extends outwardly from a portion of the second vehicle sidewall.
The vehicle mounted storage unit may be provided with a mounting structure shaped to be capable of being mounted to the rear floor portion of the vehicle and a cabinet shaped to be capable of being mounted to the mounting structure. The cabinet may be provided with a length of at least about three feet, a width of at least about eighteen inches, and a height of at least about sixteen inches.
The cabinet may include a first cabinet sidewall spaced from the first vehicle sidewall by at least about four inches in a direction perpendicular to the first cabinet sidewall when the cabinet is mounted to the vehicle, a second cabinet sidewall spaced from the first cabinet sidewall by at least about three feet in a direction parallel to the length of cabinet and spaced from the second vehicle sidewall by at least about four inches in a direction perpendicular to the second cabinet sidewall when the cabinet is mounted to the vehicle, a rear cabinet member connected to the first and second cabinet sidewalls, and a cabinet floor member connected to the first and second cabinet sidewalls, the cabinet floor member being shaped to facilitate attachment of the cabinet floor member to the mounting structure.
The storage unit may be provided with a plurality of drawers disposed in the cabinet and positioned within the cabinet between the first cabinet side wall and the second cabinet sidewall, each of the drawers being movable in a direction parallel to the width of the cabinet.
Each of the drawers may be provided with a first drawer sidewall, a second drawer sidewall spaced from the first drawer sidewall by at least about two feet in a direction parallel to the length of the cabinet, and a front drawer wall connected to the first and second drawer sidewalls of the first drawer. The front drawer wall may be provided with a first side that is spaced from the first sidewall of the vehicle by at least about eight inches when the cabinet is mounted to the vehicle and a second side that is spaced from the second sidewall of the vehicle by at least about eight inches when the cabinet is mounted to the vehicle.
The storage unit may also be provided with one or more one drawer support members that support each of the drawers so that each drawer is movable in a direction parallel to the width of the cabinet between an open position and a closed position. The storage unit may also have a drawer latch associated with each drawer, each drawer latch being movable between a first position in which the drawer latch prevents the drawer from being opened and a second position in which the drawer latch allows the drawer to be opened.
The storage unit may have a cover operatively connected to the cabinet, the cover being movable between an open position in which the drawers may be opened and a closed position in which the cover prevents the drawers from being opened, and a cover latch associated with the cover that allows the cover to be latched in its closed position.
The mounting structure of the storage unit may be provided with a mounting body having a plurality of holes formed therein to facilitate attachment of the mounting body to the rear floor portion of the vehicle, a first flange that extends outwardly from a first side of the mounting body and that is vertically spaced from the rear floor portion of the vehicle by a first distance to define a first flange space, and a second flange that extends outwardly from a second side of the mounting body and that is vertically spaced from the rear floor portion of the vehicle by a second distance to define a second flange space.
The cabinet may be provided with a first mounting flange that is sized to fit within the first flange space disposed between the rear floor portion of the vehicle and the first flange of the mounting structure and a second mounting flange spaced from the first mounting flange in a direction parallel to the length of the cabinet, the second mounting flange being sized to fit within the second flange space disposed between the rear floor portion of the vehicle and the second flange of the mounting structure.
The features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the detailed description of the preferred embodiment, which is made with reference to the drawings, a brief description of which is provided below.